Over 1,600 people have been killed in attacks on health centers in Sudan this year, WHO reports

Patients sit outside the malnutrition ward of Bunj Hospital in Maban, South Sudan, August 19, 2025. CAITLIN KELLY / AP

More than 1,600 people have been killed in attacks on medical facilities and healthcare centers in war-torn Sudan so far this year, the United Nations health chief said on Wednesday, December 17, the latest daunting statistic in the devastating conflict in the African nation.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, said the agency has documented 65 attacks on health facilities since January. The attacks also left 276 people wounded.

The most recent was a drone attack on Sunday on a military hospital in Diling, the capital of South Kordofan province, which in recent months became a flashpoint in the fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Ghebreyesus said the attack killed nine people and wounded 17. "Every attack deprives more people from health services and medicines – needs that do not pause while facilities are rebuilt and services restored," he said in a post on X.